Jack's Spreadsheet

Andrea Bruesch

Andrea Bruesch

Member
Hi. I could use a bit of advice. I was really good at keeping his spreadsheet up and doing curves but then the last few weeks I haven't done the best.

A bit of history: Jack was on 7 units of Lantus when we switched him from CD to DM/ fancy feast/ Wellness pates. He eats what I have on hand currently. He has a history of stones so I was worried I needed to feed him the DM. After a transition week of 1/2 CD and 1/2 DM his numbers looked good - January 18th. Then after a week of being on the DM completely did another curve and his numbers were lower - January 25th.

Vet advised to go to 5 units. This seemed ok at first until February 2nd. He was lethargic in the afternoons and I checked and sure enough he was falling into the 60s. I was concerned and called the vet because that evening his BG was 100 and I didn't feel I could give his shot. Vet told me his numbers were not in the context of a curve so they didn't have any meaning and if he eats give him the shot and if he doesn't give half the dose. Jack had NO APPETITE this night and so I skipped the shot. I was so worried.

I halved his dose for a few days and then based on some other advice went to 1 unit and worked up every 6 cycles to where we are now. I am realizing I should have done a proper curve before moving him from 2.5 to 3.

Yesterday Jack's BG went down all day. He again had NO APPETITE and we were concerned. my husband gave him some icecream to see if he would injest anything and his BG spiked to 500 and so I gave him 2 units. Today his appetite seemed improved. I am thinking he had too much insulin maybe. I am thinking I should go back to 2.5 tonight?
 
You might find more timely help on dosing over on the Lantus/Basaglar/Levemir forum. This forum is more for support on the condition itself. However, I can still give you some feedback.

First thing, we determine how to change the Lantus dose based on how low the dose takes the cat. You aren't getting many tests at night (when most cats go lower), so I have to guess what is happening. The 85 is a safe number, but not good for you to shoot given the data you have, so I am glad you reduced the dose last night. Based on the fact that you are going for treatment for soon (yeah!), how do you feel about trying 2.75 units. You do have to eyeball that between the half unit markings. This Sticky Note from the LBL forum has some pictures on how to do in between doses. And yes, even our acros can be sensitive to 0.25 unit changes.
 
Thanks. Any other idea what could have caused that? I am terrified that I have like harmed my cat in some way because he has been unregulated and high for so long.
 
The CD food is terribly high in %carbs. Going down to DM is a lot less carbs. We have seen non acro cats go from 5+ units down to zero just by getting rid of dry and/or high carb food. That's a dramatic example, but going to low carb makes a huge difference. You do want to feed lower phosphorus foods, so Fancy Feast is not the best choice for you. But there are a number of commercial low carb/lower phosphorus options. The other thing that can happen with acros is the tumour can pulse up and down in how much growth hormone in outputs, and hence can mean changing the dose.

As for Jack feeling off, usually the first time cats see lower/normal numbers, they don't feel well. The analogy I like is comparing high blood sugar to caffeine. You get used to your coffee. Cut if off and you feel miserable. Over time they get used to better numbers. My Neko started off being playful in the low 300's. I was so happy when that changed to low 100's. Most of us don't know exactly when our cats became diabetic, so many have seen higher numbers for a while, and their bodies have gotten use to those higher numbers.

Out of curiosity, are you using the Relion or the AT as your meter now? I noticed some references to Relion in the Remarks, but you have the AT spreadsheet. In this post on How You Can Help Us Help You, there is a list of information that is useful to have in your signature, in addition to the spreadsheet link.
 
Thanks. Yeah since he has been fine yesterday and today as his numbers climbed I thought it might have to do with his lower numbers. I wonder if it makes him nauseous. I did 2.5 last night since I was fairly certain he is ok at that dose. I can do a curve and see how he does then consider 2.75. I am using the alpha trak. I think the first few days I used the relion but then switched to the alpha trak Jan 23 i think. Also - i had people in my ear saying to use the relion because its cheaper so I was curious what different results I would get so I put them in the remarks. THe spreadsheet is all alpha trak tho.

I want to switch the the cheaper relion but I have a bunch of strips and was hoping to wait and keep using the same meter and switch to the relion after I get a better handle on his numbers.
 
WOW> This is the first time his numbers have been this good in a long time - and maybe only the second time since I started monitoring. Something must have changed to make them so low. I wonder if it is still safe to give the 2.5 units of lantus or if he is trending downward. ? Any thoughts? Ill pop over to the Lantus board soon.
 
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